What you see here is the first ever 2013 Dodge Dart Police
Car built at the Belvidere Assembly Plant for the local police who patrol the
town around the production facility for the new Dart and a variety of Jeep
products.
The town of Belvidere Illinois currently uses the Dodge
Charger Pursuit for their police vehicles but Police Chief Jan Noble wanted a
cop car built by the local plant. Chrysler accepted the challenge and designed a 2013 Dodge Dart in full
police livery for non-patrol uses around town.
“The Belvidere Police Department wanted to drive what’s
built in their town by their own citizens,” said Peter Grady, Vice President of
Network Development & Fleet, Chrysler Group LLC. “This was a terrific opportunity
to support the Belvidere police and continue to foster our longtime partnership
with this city and region.”
The 2013 Dodge Dart Police Car has the chrome grille, the
fog lights, the body colored front bumper and door handles found on the Limited
trimline along with the 17″ right aluminum rims that come standard on the SXT,
Rallye and Limited.To outfit this Dart
for police duties, Chrysler has added bright LED police lights in each of the
four quadrants of the crosshair grille, in the gloss black fog light bezels and
on the back of the exterior side mirrors along with a large LED spot light on
the a pillar and a large LED light bar across the roof.Finally, Chrysler dressed up the 2013 Dart
cop car in the decals of the Belvidere Illinois police department down the side
and across the front of the hood.
As mentioned, the 2013 Dodge Dart Police Car will only be
used for non-patrol and ceremonial duties around Belvidere.In return for the use of this unique police
car, the police officers of Belvidere will report back to the Chrysler Group
with feedback on how the Dart performs during the course of police tasks.Chrysler claims that roughly 20% of the
police cars sold in this country are used for these non-patrol roles so there
could be a budding market for a small yet room – efficient yet powerful compact
sedan in the police car market.
The new Dodge Dart Police Car debuted today at the Belvidere
Assembly Plant where it was tasked with escorting a fleet of Ram pickups packed
full of donated food to the Belvidere/Boone County Food Pantry.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
